


A Capitol Vacation

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Summer Vacation, far past s6 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 09:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11734614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: Rumple and Belle visit Washington, D.C. while Gideon goes to basketball camp. Tourism and silly conversations ensue. Written for the 'Rumbelle Summer Vacation' event on tumblr.





	A Capitol Vacation

It had only been an hour and a half flight, but that didn’t stop Belle from turning her phone on immediately upon their descent, refreshing her texts. “Gideon probably didn’t send you anything,” Rumple said, shaking his head as he waited for the announcement that they could undo their seatbelts and exit the plane.

“He might have!” Belle protested, pouting slightly when she had no new messages. “What if he’s is sick, or injured, or misses us…”

“He’s an eight year old boy,” Rumple replied with a shrug, undoing his seatbelt and helping Belle up, getting their carry-on luggage and shuffling off the plane with the rest of its passengers. “And he’s at basketball camp, having fun. He’s fine, Belle. I promise.”

Rumple heard her muttering something about wishing he’d at least sent them a ‘good morning’, and smiled to himself. It was natural for Belle to be nervous. Aside from a few quick day trips, Gideon had gone on all of their vacations with them. After Gideon’s abduction as a newborn, Belle was cautious to let him too far out of her sight for too long, and Rumple knew he was hardly better than her at times. He himself was anxious about leaving their son with strangers for the week, but the camp was thoroughly reputable, and Neal Nolan had gone along as well. Neal had a phone, and Snow had promised Rumple and Belle that Neal would let Gideon use it if he needed to contact his parents quickly.

But he knew his son was excited for a week with his friends and without his parents, and it would be nice to have Belle to himself. He’d practically had to monitor the computer to make sure she didn’t order a third plane ticket when he wasn’t looking. Belle had good intentions, but the overnight basketball camp provided the perfect opportunity for them to get out of Storybrooke for a few days.

Belle had always been fascinated with history, though he teased her that the history of the country they lived in was _nothing_ compared to that of the Enchanted Forest. She challenged him to find a way to take her on a tour of the Enchanted Forest, and he’d yet to find a way for it to work, and Washington, D.C. was next on their “destinations” list. They knew an eight-year old boy wouldn’t find the capital city too interesting, so it seemed like as good a place as any to go to when they left Storybrooke. They stood in silence waiting for a car, watching the push and pull of traffic. Belle was looking down at a guide book she’d ordered from Amazon. “You really think he’s okay?” she asked, eyes still on the page.

“Yes,” he said, putting his arm around her waist. “He’s having a great time. He probably hasn’t given us a second thought since we dropped him off.”

Belle looked up at him, eyes sharp. “That doesn’t make me feel better, Rumple.”

“It’s normal to have some separation anxiety,” he said, finally waving a taxi down successfully. “I’ll miss him, too. Let’s just try and enjoy everything you’ve got planned up for us on that schedule of yours.”

His voice was joking, and she blushed. “There’s nothing wrong with organization,” she bristled. “I just want us to use our alone time effectively.”

“Oh, I plan on it,” he said, ushering her into the waiting car.

\---

The next morning, Belle had scheduled a tour of the Library of Congress. “Of course you’d make our first destination a _library_ ,” he said, teasing her as they walked to the entrance.

“Not just any library,” Belle replied. “It’s the largest library in the whole world.”

They got through security fairly easily, finding their tour group’s starting location and he watched Belle’s eyes practically fall out of her head.“Oh my god,” she said, throwing her head back and staring at the decadently decorated building. There were more colors and designs and patterns than Rumple had ever seen in his life, even in castles from his past. “I think I love this building more than I love you.”

Rumple laughed. She took his hand, leading him away from the group. “Don’t you want to do the tour?” he asked, glancing back, and she shook her head.

“I know all the facts already. I have to see this for myself. I didn’t expect it to be this… _much_ ,” Belle breathed, in awe of her surroundings. He could have sworn there were tears in his wife’s eyes as she took it all in. The murals, statues, paintings, displays of ancient texts and relics. It was hard not be stunned by the building’s magnificence, the weight of what it all symbolized. “Rumple,” Belle said, turning to her husband. “I think I want to move here.”

“I’ll have to see what they’re asking before I put an offer on it, sweetheart,” he said, and she linked her arm through his, continuing their personal tour of the Library. He took her photo in front of a few areas they were allowed to take pictures of. She studied the murals and things written next to them, nodding vigorously as she read _“they are never alone, that are accompanied with noble thought”_.

“I like that one a lot,” she said, pointing to that quote with a woman clothed in white above it. “It’s true.”

They went up some stars and found an overlook of the main library, Belle watching the patrons with jealousy in her eyes. Several citizens sat amongst the books, researching and reading to their heart’s content. Rumple and Belle had accidentally been swept into a tour group, listening to a friendly guide explain how to become a library member.

“I technically don’t have a reason to become a member, do I?” Belle asked with a sigh after the group had been led away. “I wonder if my Storybrooke, Maine ID would pass here. Or if I’d start a national security crisis.”

She pursed her lips, as if pondering the situation.

“Sweetheart, I could just…you know, and then you’d get the card, no problem,” he waggled his fingers, trying to get her to get his meaning without saying it out loud. He could easily use magic to make sure a librarian didn’t question the validity of a town created by a curse that would never show up on a map.

Belle looked at him, confused for a moment, and then got his meaning, raising her eyebrows. “No, that’s fine,” she shook her head before she kissed his cheek. “Thank you for offering, though.”

They continued into a exhibit room with a collection of particular rare books, causing Belle to practically swoon. Her fingers traced the outlines of their titles, hovering over the protective glass. “I’m glad this makes you so happy,” Rumple said. He would come back here everyday of their trip if that’s what she wanted to do.

“This is nice,” she said, slipping her hand into his. “We’ve got lunch reservations soon, we have to go. Maybe we can come back one of the other days of our trips… if there’s time?”

She said it like a question, but he knew it was a plan. “Of course, Belle,” he said, following as she made her slow trip out of the Library.

\---

Belle was delighted by the Smithsonian Museums, scheduling two whole days to just take them in. She couldn’t believe how patient Rumple was, letting her take as much or as little time at each one as she wanted. The Museum of American History proved particularly interesting. “Rumple, look,” she said, pointing to one display people were taking time to examine and laughing to herself. “ _Ruby’s slippers._ ”

Her husband smirked, and they waited their turn to see the iconic movie shoes. Belle took a photo of the fading sparkling slippers. “I’ll have to show this to Ruby next time she comes back to town,” she said. “She’ll love it.”

They both enjoyed the Air and Space Museum as well, Belle finding Rumple’s new interest in space surprising but charming. They’d both spent time on earth and other realms, but space seemed like an entirely different frontier. Both of them admired many of the works in the Art Gallery and Portrait Gallery, and then felt their eyes getting tired from spending hours just walking museum halls and looking at things. At the end of their second day, Belle and Rumple took a walk to the Lincoln Memorial, admiring the newly blooming cherry blossom trees. It was stunning to watch the soft pink glow of the trees with the sun setting in the distance. They strolled leisurely, Belle’s head on Rumple’s shoulder. “This has been nice,” she said, a slight twinge in her voice.

“You sound disappointed,” Rumple said, glancing down at his wife. They’d spent the last three days going between their hotel bedroom and sightseeing. It had been, by all means, a very fun adult vacation.

“I think I have mum’s guilt for having a good time without Gideon,” she admitted.

“I miss him, too,” he said. “We could check the camp’s blog and see if they’ve posted anything.”

They sat at a bench together, pulling up the blog they’d been given a link to after they had checked Gideon in. Sure enough, a whole album of photos popped up. “Oh!” Belle said, clicking one with Gideon front and center. “He looks so happy!”

They went through the album, smiling at various action shots of their son with his friends at the dining hall and on the basketball court. “We could bring him here another year,” Rumple suggested. “When he’s older and he’d appreciate it more.”

Belle nodded. “They do have inaugurations every four years. That could be fun and historic.”

“This time away from us is good for him. And us,” Rumple said, and Belle smiled up at him, clicking her phone off.

“It _has_ been good for us, to have nobody else around…” she said, leaning up and kissing him deeply, causing a passerby to give a low wolf whistle. _“Well,”_ Belle thought, _“There still were some people around. Just not our son.”_

Belle blushed as they broke apart. “I think we should get back to the hotel, don’t you?” she asked, standing up from the bench. She made an upset face, stretching.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“My feet hurt from walking so much these past few days.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You can shelve books at the library in the five-inch death traps you call heels, but three days in gym shoes is too much for you?”

“We don’t all have the stamina of the Dark One,” she said, rolling her eyes and then looking around to make sure nobody had heard her. If they had, they’d probably just think they had misheard anyway. Or that they were part of some weird cult.

“I would poof you back in an instant, my dear, if that wouldn’t cause the FBI to be after us,” he said, offering her his arm.

She took it, shrugging. “Details, details…”

\---

For their final day, Belle had found a tour bus they could get on and get off at various points around the city. They started off at Ford’s Theatre, feeling the chill in the air as the park ranger explained what had happened the night president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. “Kinda eery,” Belle said as they made their way across the street to the hotel the man actually died at. They made their way through the Lincoln museum, ending up in a gift shop.

“Should we buy Gideon something from here, Rumple?” Belle asked, looking through the books section.

“Do you think he’d like one of these?” Rumple asked, looking over her shoulder at the fun fact book she was holding. Their son had picked up his mother’s reading tendencies, but a boy may as well prefer a t-shirt.

Belle glanced up at him, a serious look on her face. “Well, Abraham Lincoln and Gideon have something in common.”

He looked puzzled, so she continued. “Lincoln was the tallest president. And Gideon’s going to be the tallest member of our family.”

They both burst out laughing, trying not to disturb the other shoppers. Rumple took the  book to the cashier, half-shaking his head and half-bemused. They couldn’t exactly _tell_ their son they knew he was going to tower over them, but he was dreading the day he woke up and Gideon had hit a growth spurt.

Exiting the Lincoln museum, they boarded the bus and headed to other historic monuments and memorials. They saw the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Capitol building where Congress works. Rumple and Belle waited in line to view the original Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence in the special cases they were kept in. Finally, they took a photo together in front of the White House. They’d been back and forth and all around the city, finishing their evening at a highly recommended restaurant called The Capital Grille.

On their way back from dinner, Rumple spotted a clear tourist trap shop offering every souvenir that every other tourist shop had. “It’s still open,” he said, leading Belle in. She tried on a bedazzled American flag hat, and he found an American flag tie.

“This will be patriotic,” he said, “for the Fourth of July. Let’s find a t-shirt for Gid.”

“You don’t think the book is enough?” Belle asked, setting the hat back and finding the boy’s t-shirts.

He shrugged. “We can get him two things.”

They found a blue t-shirt that read “ _Washington, D.C._ ” in Gideon’s size, purchasing it after laughing about one of the shirts that read _“My Parents Went to D.C. and All They Got Me Was This Stupid T-Shirt”._

“You know,” Belle said, a little punch-drunk from her beverages at dinner. “This was fun. We should do this more. Just us two. But I’m ready to see my son again.”

Rumple hailed down a cab to take them back to their hotel, smiling at her. He was glad they’d had a good time, and was excited to see Gideon after they got home tomorrow. “Well, the next trip we were talking about was Disney World… I doubt even the best camp could talk Gid out of that one.”

She nodded, settling into the cab. “That’ll be a good family trip. The three of us,” she said, before resting her head on Rumple’s shoulder and drifting to sleep in the few minute ride to the hotel. Rumple smiled to himself. He knew Belle was tired from everything she’d crammed into their trip, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it with their son with them. Gideon would’ve been more interested in the pool than in the historic sights that entranced Belle. She woke up when they arrived at the hotel, and they repacked their clothes and slept, ready for their flight home.

\---

They arrived back to Storybrooke after a smooth morning flight, unpacking their clothes and toiletries. Belle wrapped up Gideon’s gifts and left them in his room. That afternoon, they headed to camp, checking their son out and finding his bags. “Mama!” Belle heard, finding her son suddenly in her arms. “I missed you!”

“Oh, I missed you too, little one,” she said, hugging him back and wishing he’d always want to hug her like this in front of everyone.

“Papa,” Gideon said when he broke apart from his mother, giving Rumple a hug as well. “Missed you, too.”

He immediately started chattering away about his camp, where they gave the appropriate “ooh”s and “aah”s as he described his various accomplishments and activities from the week. When they got home, Gideon headed to his room with his bag.

“Oh!” Gideon said, noticing the gift on his pillow. “You guys went somewhere, too!”

Belle nodded, “Yeah, Washington, D.C., it’s the country’s capital -” but her son was already ripping the paper, clearly not paying any attention to her.

“A book!” Gideon said. “About Abraham Lincoln. And a t-shirt! Thanks!”

Rumple patted his shoulder, exchanging a smile with Belle. “We looked a lot of boring adult things. Mum and I spent half a day in a library.”

Gideon rolled his eyes. “Mum could spend a _whole_ day in the library.”

Belle laughed and agreed, giving Gideon a quick hug before returning to her room with Rumple close behind. She flopped down on their bed, hands on her face. “I think I need another vacation before we go back to the real world.”

“Or a nap,” he suggested, laying down next to her, his arm hooking around her waist.

“Or maybe-” she began, voice low, when a loud knock came from the door. They both jumped.

“Mum!” Gideon’s voice came, their son cracking open the door. “I got a stain on my shorts. Can you get it out?”

Belle sighed, sitting up. “I’ll come look at it.”

“Back to real life, huh?” Rumple said, sitting up next to Belle. As she stood up to go to the laundry room, she shrugged, kissing him quickly on the cheek.

“I like our real life,” Belle said. As he watched her meet their son at the door and walk away, he was inclined to agree. They had everything they needed, right here in Storybrooke. But a vacation didn’t hurt every now and again.


End file.
